Former Canucks Thread 2023-24 Off-Season Edition

[Curm]

Ovechkin chase of Gretzky stirs memories for his 1st NHL coach with Capitals | NHL.com

Hanlon, who allowed Great One's 1st goal, had front-row seat to history

www.nhl.com

NHL article on Glen "The Franchise" Hanlon and mostly about his thoughts on Ovechkin chasing Gretzky's record. Reminding us too, that Hanlon, as a Canuck, "gave up" Gretzky's first goal in the NHL.

Thanks for posting this. I was a huge Hanlon fan when he was here. He was actually in the running for the Calder before getting injured, I think it was his knee, and Smyl, Gradin, Fraser, and Derlago were all rookies as well, and it was Harry Neale's first year as coach. There was so much promise, Hanlon's start along with the Gradin/Smyl/Fraser line, and Derlago's great return after being sent to the minors.

As you mentioned, Hanlon got the nickname "The Franchise", he was that good, and Derlago's was "King", he was really starting to show why he was the 4th overall pick after filling the net with Brandon. Funny, I couldn't believe when they drafted Derlago, he was so good, but then I saw him interviewed in studio on Sports Page, and he looked rather thick. lol

Anyway, Derlago got knocked out for the year during a HNIC game by Denis Potvin of the Islanders, then Hanlon was lost for the year not too long afterward.

Hanlon was also in net for the Canucks 1st ever win over the Habs at home, it was their 10th year in the league, and I remember seeing him interviewed after the game, and it was like they had just won the Stanley Cup he was so emotional. Hell, I was emotional, I absolutely despised the Habs growing up for how they routinely manhandled the Canucks. It meant so much, even though they had already beaten them once in Montreal in the regular season and again there the first time the Canucks made the playoffs. I was actually at the first ever Canucks home playoff game a couple nights later, a 4-1 loss.

I'll never forget "The Franchise", he was awesome, and, man, what could have been with some of the young talent they had.

 

[Bubbles]

I always find it fascinating to see what types of North Americans do well in the KHL, and what types of Russians do well in the NHL. Leivo and Kuzmenko are good examples - both players with a ton of skill but can't play the other parts of the game to be an NHL top player.

It's usually the "AAAA" players that rip up Euro leagues. They're good enough to rip up the AHL but can't make it in the NHL.

In Kuzmenko's case if you leave the guy in the top 6, he'll produce. He's just useless in other parts of the game.

For me, it's always a strange fascination when I see an ex-Canuck rip up random Euro league. Adam Cracknell is one of the top scorers in the Slovak league (at 39 years old, lol )

 

[archangel2]

He had 16 points in the first 26 games of the season (all at ES - basically quality 1st line production in the heart of the DPE) and then basically didn't play more than 10:00 on the 4th line next to Brashear/Hendrickson etc. after that.

It wasn't like he was scoring and then dried up in continued opportunity. He was scoring and then the opportunity was taken away.

you took a small sample size and made it smaller to suit you narrative. If you put some of the fat slobs on this board on a teams top line they will get pts. Did the players on the top line numbers drop when he got moved off the line? Nope. but his did. So are his numbers based upon him playing or the people he was playing with?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

which of you fellow middle aged folks remember the “stevie and mo” billboards from that fall?

all due respect to morrison but it was like, after a ten year run of linden, nedved (who tbf underwhelmed majorly as a youngster), bure, and ohlund… this is what it’s come to?

 

[joelCAMEL]

The mention of a billboard reminds me when we traded:

Bobby Schmautz	Chris Oddleifson Fred O`Donnell rights to Mike Walton

February 7, 1974

O'Donnell would not report and I recall reading in the Vancouver Sun that a columnist suggested the team should place a billboard up with a " Fred O'Donnell, where are you " message.

edit:
I did more digging and after 50 years, just found out more on why he refused to report.

Fred O'Donnell career profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com

Player page on HockeyDraftCentral.com for Fred O'Donnell, the No. 37 pick in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

www.hockeydraftcentral.com

His wife was expecting and he wanted to stay in Boston area. He also refused to report 2 other times in his career and finally retired at 25. Inducted into Kingston Hall of Fame in 2012.​

 

[David71]

still miss jt millers style of play though

 

[IComeInPeace]

The mention of a billboard reminds me when we traded:

Bobby Schmautz	Chris Oddleifson Fred O`Donnell rights to Mike Walton

February 7, 1974

O'Donnell would not report and I recall reading in the Vancouver Sun that a columnist suggested the team should place a billboard up with a " Fred O'Donnell, where are you " message.​

I didn’t know that about Fred O’Donnell (actually I’d never even heard of him).

So, I just looked him up.

That’s really unusual. He was only 24 years of age and in his 2nd NHL season. He was a Canadian to boot.
He wasn’t a highly touted guy so it’s unusual he’d refuse to report.

I see that the next season he signed in the WHA with the New England Whalers.

I wonder if he just fell in love with that area or met a girl from the area.

That was a time when every little Cdn boy had dreams of playing in the NHL and he chose to kind of throw his career aside at only 25.
Weird.

Mike Walton had a drinking problem and instead of reporting to the Canucks he too went to the WHA for the next 3 seasons.

He was kind of a crazy dude:

Following a HNIC game in Toronto he needed a drink so bad that he went to the bar in the arena in his full uniform immediately following the game.

There was also the time in Vancouver where he protested his lack of ice time by refusing to go to the dressing room between periods and instead went out on the ice and followed the Zamboni around as it cleaned the ice.

Lots of crazy characters in the game back then!

 

[F A N]

Watching Senators games is a bit nostalgic. Highmore and Gaudette up front, Hamonic on D, Green and Baumer behind the bench. Heck, they even have a guy named Nick Jensen.

 

[MS]

I didn’t know that about Fred O’Donnell (actually I’d never even heard of him).

So, I just looked him up.

That’s really unusual. He was only 24 years of age and in his 2nd NHL season. He was a Canadian to boot.
He wasn’t a highly touted guy so it’s unusual he’d refuse to report.

I see that the next season he signed in the WHA with the New England Whalers.

I wonder if he just fell in love with that area or met a girl from the area.

That was a time when every little Cdn boy had dreams of playing in the NHL and he chose to kind of throw his career aside at only 25.
Weird.

From hockeydraftcentral :

O'Donnell Exits the NHL​

O'Donnell's career in the NHL was brief and somewhat turbulent. He initially refused to sign with Minnesota after being drafted by the North Stars and enrolled at Queen's University for the 1969-70 school year. By making this move, O'Donnell was able to convince Minnesota to trade him to Boston -- an organization he knew well from having played for the Bruins' former junior team in Oshawa. He was a regular for two seasons with the Bruins, but on Feb. 7, 1974, when Boston tried to trade him to Vancouver, O'Donnell refused to report to the Canucks because his wife was pregnant with the couple's first child. The trade was announced right after O'Donnell had an assist and fought St. Louis enforcer Bob Gassoff in what would prove to be his final game. On Feb. 9, the Canucks officially suspended O'Donnell without pay, but he remained away from the team for more than two weeks. During this time, he worked out a deal to jump to the WHA with the New England Whalers for the 1974-75 season. Once that deal was finalized, O'Donnell reported to Vancouver on Feb. 26, 1974, and offered to play for the Canucks for the balance of the 1973-74 season. Vancouver coach Phil Maloney was not interested in having a player with O'Donnell's attitude and sent him home. O'Donnell waited out the rest of the season and then joined New England for the 1974-75 season. By jumping to the WHA in such an abrupt fashion, O'Donnell effectively blackballed himself from ever returning to the NHL because of the animosity between the two leagues. Two years later, the Whalers dealt O'Donnell to the former Cleveland Crusaders franchis, but he had no interest in playing for that team, which was in the process of relocating to South Florida at the time he was traded there. The Florida move later fell through, and the Crusaders instead opted to relocate to Minnesota -- the same place he originally refused to go to when drafted into the NHL. He opted to retire from pro hockey and went home to Ontario to complete his education.

Fred O'Donnell career profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com

Player page on HockeyDraftCentral.com for Fred O'Donnell, the No. 37 pick in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

www.hockeydraftcentral.com

O'Donnell refused to report to Minnesota when he was drafted, refused to report to Vancouver when he was traded to Vancouver, and refused to report to Cleveland (WHA) when he was traded there and then retired from hockey at age 26.

 

[IComeInPeace]

From hockeydraftcentral :

Fred O'Donnell career profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com

Player page on HockeyDraftCentral.com for Fred O'Donnell, the No. 37 pick in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

www.hockeydraftcentral.com

O'Donnell refused to report to Minnesota when he was drafted, refused to report to Vancouver when he was traded to Vancouver, and refused to report to Cleveland (WHA) when he was traded there and then retired from hockey at age 26.

Wow.

Yeah that would be an effective strategy if your goal was to ensure a short NHL career (especially if you’re not even a star player).

 

[Hit the post]

ARGH

Ron Delorme was busy scouting in Sweden